The recent spate of Stephen King adaptations is set to continue next year with the release of It: Chapter Two, In the Tall Grass, and a remake of the author’s bestseller Pet Sematary.
King himself was initially concerned that the 1983 book was too dark and bleak for publication, and screenwriter Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train) has revealed to Dread Central that he and directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch (Starry Eyes) are looking to make “one of the scariest Stephen King adaptations ever” by capturing the tone of King’s novel.
“Dennis and Kevin and I really connected around the idea of bringing the story back to the source material, to find a modern telling of the book that really spoke to some of the big scenes and big moments that Stephen King had originally written,” said Buhler. “As much as all of us are huge fans of the original film, there are moments that are larger than life and feel borderline campy. Our desire was to tell a really grounded, character driven and psychologically horrific version of Pet Sematary, which in my belief, is the scariest book that King ever wrote… If you love the book, you’ll love this movie… I think we’re on track to it make one of the scariest Stephen King adaptations ever! That’s our goal anyway.”
“Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.”
Pet Sematary is set to open on April 4th 2019 and sees Jason Clarke (Winchester) takes on the lead role of Louis Creed, while the cast also includes Amy Seimetz (Alien: Covenant), John Lithgow (The Crown), Jeté Laurence (The Americans), Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie.